Europe

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the killing of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the Ukraine war's deadliest strikes.

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* Some protesters in Germany, online and on the streets, are calling on Berlin to reconsider its support for Ukraine, tapping into deep connections between Germany and Russia, with a legacy of Soviet ties to Communist east Germany and decades of German dependency on Russian gas.

MOSCOW, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, underlined the high level of relations between the two countries during a phone conversation on Tuesday.

They exchanged New Year greetings and discussed issues of practical cooperation in a number of areas, including the fuel and energy sector, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin and Tokayev agreed to continue coordination between governments and relevant bodies of the two countries.

SOFIA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev on Tuesday formally asked "We Continue the Change" (PP), the country's second largest party, to form a government.

"You receive this exploratory mandate on the first working day of the New Year, when we traditionally wish each other health, peace and prosperity," Radev said as he handed the mandate to PP's prime minister-designate Nikolay Denkov.

"I accept this mandate with the clear awareness that the task is extremely difficult," said Denkov, whose reformist party holds 53 seats in the 240-member Parliament.

BERLIN, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. protectionism is solidifying at a rapid pace and could set the mood for transatlantic relations in the future, said an op-ed published in the German business newspaper Handelsblatt recently.

"The leitmotif of becoming more independent of China is deeply embedded in both American parties," said the article released on Nov. 25. This is why the United States was putting billions in subsidies and investments that favor domestic manufacturers, it added.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations will try again on Wednesday to mold a coordinated approach on if and how authorities should check incoming airline passengers from China for any new COVID-19 variants after several member nations announced individual efforts over the past week.

Belgium said late Monday it would be checking wastewater from planes coming in from China to see if it yields new clues about any potentially dangerous variants. It said that it would urge visitors from China who do not feel well to take a COVID-19 test.

BERLIN (AP) — Scuffles broke out on Monday outside a village in western Germany that is to be razed to allow the expansion of a coal mine, a plan that is drawing resistance from climate activists.

Activists threw fireworks, bottles and stones at police outside the village of Luetzerath before the situation calmed down and officers pulled back, German news agency dpa reported.

Protesters previously had set up a burning barricade, and one glued his hand to the access road.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has surprisingly spoken in favor of the death penalty and admitted he doesn’t share the view of the Roman Catholic Church on the matter.

It seemed to be an isolated view among leaders within the 27-member European Union, which doesn’t have capital punishment. His words drew criticism from the opposition.

Morawiecki, a practicing Catholic, made the comments late Monday during a public question-and-answer session with Facebook users.

BERLIN (AP) — The first regular shipment of liquefied natural gas from the United States arrived in Germany on Tuesday, part of a wide-reaching effort to help the country replace energy supplies it previously received from Russia.

The tanker vessel Maria Energy arrived at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, where its shipment of LNG will be converted back into gas at a special floating terminal that was inaugurated last month by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and China on Tuesday moved closer to a political standoff over the COVID-19 crisis, with Beijing vehemently rejecting travel restrictions some EU nations have started to impose that could well be expanded in coming days.

An EU offer of help, including vaccine donations, was also as good as slapped down, with Beijing insisting the situation was “under control” and medical provisions “in adequate supply,” government spokesperson Mao Ning said.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Emergency crews on Tuesday sifted through the rubble of a building struck by Ukrainian rockets, killing at least 63 Russian soldiers barracked there, in the latest blow to the Kremlin’s war strategy as Ukraine says Moscow’s tactics could be shifting.

An Associated Press video of the scene in Makiivka, a town in the partially Russian-occupied eastern Donetsk region, showed five cranes and emergency workers removing big chunks of concrete under a clear blue sky.